Kelvin Yu (born 1979) is an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Early life and education

Yu was born to Yu Ming-chuan and Lin Ling-juan. He grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he currently resides. He is a graduate of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, where he majored in film, theatre, and television. His brother, Charles Yu, is a writer.

Career

Acting

Yu started acting in theater at the age of thirteen. His television credits have included guest spots on ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', '' ER'', ''Las Vegas'', ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created for NBC and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by ...

'', '' CSI: NY'', and ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

''. Yu's first film was the 2003 comedy '' The Utopian Society''. He later made an uncredited appearance in the 2005 film '' Elizabethtown''. The following year, Yu had a supporting role in the comedy '' Grandma's Boy''. Yu played a role in the ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...

'' episode "Double Exposure" (3x6) as Joseph. Yu had a supporting role in the 2008

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning biographical political drama ''

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

''. Yu has starred in several short films, including 2006's ''My Prince, My Angel''. Yu later appeared with

Linda Park Linda Park (born July 9, 1978) is a South Korean-born American actress. She is best known for playing communications officer Hoshi Sato in the science-fiction series ''Star Trek: Enterprise.'' Early life Park was born in South Korea and raised ...

on the ABC series '' Women's Murder Club'', and a lead role in the 2007 short film ''Fortune Hunters''. In 2020, he played a role in ''

Wonder Woman 1984 ''Wonder Woman 1984'' (also stylized as ''WW84'') is a 2020 American superhero film based on the DC Comics, DC character Wonder Woman. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Stone Quarry, and distributed by Wa ...

''. Yu had a recurring role in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original series ''

Master of None ''Master of None'' is an American comedy drama television series, which was released for streaming on November 6, 2015, on Netflix. The series was created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, with the first two seasons starring Ansari in the lead rol ...

'' as the character of Brian Chang, the on-screen analogue of the show's creator Alan Yang, described as a "hottie" by ''Vulture'' magazine. He provides the voice of a minor character on '' The Great North''. In 2022 Yu appeared in the Apple TV+ series '' The Afterparty''.

Writing

Yu is currently a writer and executive producer for the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

animated series ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is centered on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and their three children, Tina Belcher, Tina, G ...

'', has been nominated six times for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Animated Program, winning in 2017. In 2016, he won an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

for Outstanding Achievement in Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production (along with co-writer Steven Davis) for the episode " The Hauntening." Yu also is a consulting producer on ''

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

'' and has written a few songs for that show. In October 2021, it was announced that

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

had given a series order to a television adaptation of the graphic novel '' American Born Chinese''. It will be produced by 20th Century Television with Yu and his brother Charles Yu as writers and executive producers, Marvin Mar and

Jake Kasdan Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing ''Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'' (2007), ''Bad Teacher'' (2011), ''Sex Tape (film), Sex Tape'' (2014), ''Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' (2 ...

as executive producers, and

Destin Daniel Cretton Destin Yori Daniel Cretton is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the drama films ''Short Term 12'' (2013), ''The Glass Castle (2017 film), The Glass Castle'' (2017), ''Just Mercy'' (2019) as well as the Marvel Studios film ''S ...

as director and executive producer.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Kelvin American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Taiwanese descent Living people UCLA Film School alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Male actors from Los Angeles 1979 births American male television writers American television writers Annie Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers Screenwriters from Los Angeles Male actors from Santa Ana, California